New Delhi: India was set to go forward with its 5G trials in January this year, but they stand indefinitely delayed because of the coronavirus outbreak. Making use of the extra time, Indian techies are exploring advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) that would be more compatible with high-speed 5G technology.

In order to help agencies secure air space over critical civilian and military installations, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has developed a drone which can easily detect rogue UAVs visually by using algorithms powered by artificial intelligence and be of assistance to law enforcement agencies, security services, and the armed forces.

“It can track down rogue drones visually, hack into their Global Positioning System (GPS) navigation system, following which the target drone is forced to change its flight path or land safely”, the statement said.

The drone would have an advantage over others in terms of method of operation – it can be controlled over the Internet and it navigates autonomously, in contrast to existing ones which require the operator to keep it within their sight.

The system has been developed by an IIT Madras’ team of students under the mentorship of Dr Ranjith Mohan, assistant professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering, IIT Madras.

“Our current prototype is equipped to detect and track objects visually, precisely land and fly over Internet. Our next step will be to conduct exhaustive tests on the system and ensure its reliability to cater to a wide range of demanding missions that pose challenge to our law enforcement and defence agencies", Mohan said.

Meanwhile, the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation has pushed for voluntary disclosure of civil drones by asking people to save themselves from inviting legal actions them. The step was taken for security purposes.

India has previously reported incidents of spotting rogue drones along the international border with Pakistan.

In January, India's Border Security Force (BSF) claimed that it had shot down a Pakistani drone along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu. N.S. Jamwal, a high-ranking BSF official in Jammu, said that the Chinese-made drone was spotted at a forward post in the Arnia sector.

In October 2019, the Indian Home Ministry asked security forces to purchase advanced anti-drone systems after police recovered significant amounts of drugs and weapons, including a drone, from villages near the international border with Pakistan, in the northern Indian state of Punjab.